Borough (New Jersey)

[4] The Borough Act of 1878 allowed any township (or portion thereof) with a land area of no more than four square miles (10 km2) and a population not exceeding 5,000, to establish itself as an independent borough through a petition and referendum process on a self-executing basis.

In 1894, the Legislature passed an act requiring each township to have a single school district.

A wave of borough incorporations followed, as one part of several townships decided that it would prefer the cost of being a separate municipality to paying for the other schools.

Henceforth, newly incorporated boroughs (or those seeking to dissolve or increase or decrease in size) required approval of the legislature.

The borough system has a weak mayor and the council performs most legislative and executive functions.